Eric Harris
THIS ARTICLE WILL NOT CONTAIN FULL INFORMATION ON THE KILLER'S INVOLVEMENT. SEARCH - "Columbine High School massacre". Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 - April 20, 1999) was an American high school senior who committed the Columbine High School massacre along with friend and accomplice Dylan Klebold. The pair killed 13 people and injured 24 others before turning the guns on themselves only feet away from ten of their victims. Background Eric was born in Wichita, Kansas to Wayne Nelson and Katherine "Kathy" Harris (née Poole). He was born with Pectus Excavatum, but later had surgery at ages 12 and 13 to treat this. Eric's parents were originally from Colorado, and both were born there, however Wayne Harris was a transport pilot in the Air Force and he held eleven different positions at six different bases from Ohio, Michigan, and New York. This caused the Harris family to move quite frequently, something that would have a traumatic affect on Eric's ability to settle down and make friends at school. Plattsburgh, New York was the last location the family moved to before Wayne forced retirement from the military in 1993 due to cutbacks. Finally in July of 1993, the family relocated one last time to Littleton, Colorado, at which point Wayne took up working at Flight Safety Services Corporation in Englewood and Kathy got a job as a caterer. Eric went to Ken Caryl Middle School, and met Dylan Klebold. The pair became close friends and spent a lot of time together. Eric started attending Columbine in 1995. In 1996 the Harrises bought a home just south of the high school on Pierce Street. Eric met Brooks Brown while riding the bus, their houses not being far apart. Dylan had been friends with Brooks since the first grade, although this friendship would eventually fall out of touch when the boys started attending different schools. Eric soon befriended Nate Dykeman in Spanish class, who he then introduced to Dylan. They all became close friends. During his freshman year, Eric met Columbine pupil and love interest Tiffany Typher in German class and took her to the homecoming. This would be their only date; and afterwards she allegedly refused to go out with him again. In order to try and scare her and in a rather dark way try and win her back, he staged a fake suicide, with himself sprawled on the ground with fake blood covering his body. He later wrote in her yearbook (as well as Nate Dykeman's) the words "Ich bin Gott", German for "I am God". In January 1998, both Eric and Dylan, now Juniors at Columbine, were arrested for breaking into a van but both were released early for good behavior while participating in a juvenile diversion program. Planning for Columbine Acquiring the Weapons The same year they were arrested, both Eric and Dylan began working at Blackjack Pizza, where they met Phillip Duran, who was also employed. Duran, a Columbine graduate, introduced the two to Mark Manes, a friend who agreed to sell them a TEC-DC9 semi-automatic handgun for $500. Meanwhile, Robyn Anderson, a close friend of Dylan's, purchased two shotguns and a 9mm rifle which she then gave to the pair who were now planning to attack their school. After acquiring the guns, Eric and Dylan went shooting at the Rampart Range with Mark Manes, Phillip Duran, and Manes' girlfriend. They practiced shooting at bowling pins and pine trees. Eric's Mischief Together, both Eric and Dylan started having a lot of mischief at Blackjack Pizza. They set off fireworks in the back alley and booby-trapped the fence. At one point the pair even set fire to the workplace kitchen. Chris Morris, a friend of Eric's, worked with them at the pizza place and was arrested on 4-20-99 due to some suspicion that he may have been involved in the shooting. He was later cleared and released. In 1997 Eric's father Wayne Harris started keeping a diary of his son's misdeeds. It starts shortly after Eric and Brooks Brown have a falling out. In Brooks' book No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine, Brooks claims that it started because he was late in giving Eric a ride to school. After Eric continuously went on about Brooks' mistake, Brooks eventually said that he wasn't even receiving gas money for the ride, and finally told Eric to find another ride to school. Eric got angry and broke Brooks' windshield with a rock; and then began simultaneously terrorizing the Brown household by putting firecrackers on the windowsill and causing other harassment. Eric gloated about these occurrences in his personal journals as well as his website. The Browns eventually contacted the police and Eric's parents. Eric apologized for his actions, but soon after posted Brooks' phone number on one of his online rants. Around this time, Wayne Harris began logging his son's problems. In January of 1998, Eric and Dylan broke into a van and stole a bunch of electronic equipment. The pair were caught and were sentenced to community service via Juvenile Diversion. Eric ranted about his anger for the incident in his journal. While writing the entry, at the same he wrote an apology letter to the van's owner. All and all, Eric's parents as well as the judge saw a remorseful image and he was released early from his sentence. Around the time of the incident, Eric's mother began taking him to see a therapist for his anger management issues. One of Eric's aspirations was to join the Marines, and he even applied, however his application was rejected shortly before the massacre at Columbine likely because he was taking the drug Fluvox (Fluvoxamine maleate) at the time, a prescribed anti-depressant he was taking in connection with his anger management therapy. Some of Eric's friends told reporters that they believed he had stopped taking the drug shortly before the rampage. If true, this could have widely contributed to what happened as stopping any anti-depressant can enhance the negative side effects. Eric was never informed about him being denied in the Marines, as the recruiting officer was unable to reach him to let him know before the shootings had occurred. Kathy Harris had mentioned the drug Fluvox while meeting with the recruiter along with her son so it's possible he assumed Eric's chances were blown as he had not reported that he was taking the anti-depressant when he applied. Based on what his friends have said over the years, Eric himself believed he wouldn't be going into the Armed Forces. Eric was very active on the internet prior to the massacre, exploring a new frontier of hobbies as the technology was new. Judy Brown, Brooks' mother, claimed that while driving around the block she would see Eric on his computer constantly, wondering if it was healthy for him to be on it that frequently. He and Dylan had their computers set up online, and were avid Doom ''players, Eric having a stronger web preference. Eric's (a.k.a. 'REB', 'Rebel', 'Rebdoomer', 'Rebdomine') webpages received a lot of attention immediately following the shootings, namely the rants released years after the investigation into Columbine ended. Both Eric and Dylan were into the Industrial music scene, and enjoyed listening to KMFDM as well as Rammstein. Eric often wore a shirt with 'KMFDM' printed on the front. After Eric's journals and webpages were released to the public, the bands distanced themselves from the Trenchcoat Mafia and the shooters, as did Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and anyone else listed on Eric's site as being someone he admired. Most notably, Marilyn Manson was brought into attention by the media however there is no sign that either Eric or Dylan listened to his music. Manson also made it known that he never condoned what happened at Columbine. Eric chatted on WBS, ''Web Broadcasting System, he was also active on AOL. Eric made websites including Jo Mamma (a website of 'jo mamma' jokes that aren't supposed to be funny, created by REB Eric, VoDkA Dylan, and KiBBz Heckler), and another WBS page made up of KMFDM lyrics and the more explicit and threatening AOL website that contained a threat of killing Brooks Brown and shooting up Littleton. Randy and Judy Brown, Brooks' parents, saw the website (ironically they were tipped off my Dylan Klebold) and they filed a police report. Not long after the Browns filed the report, which was never followed up, Eric began keeping a journal of plans to attack Columbine on April 19, 1999. Both Eric and Dylan changed the date to the 20th on the week of the 19th. It's been speculated that the original date was to coincide with the Oklahoma City bombing and the Waco Siege; however April 20 was Adolf Hitler's date of birth. It's unknown why they really chose the date that they did in the end. The Basement Tapes A year before the massacre, Eric, Dylan, Chris Morris, and another friend, Columbine graduate Cory Friesen, helped close down a firework stand. In return, they all got fireworks. Eric and Dylan took at least ten boxes of fireworks, and soon began using them to construct and build pipe bombs. Beginning in the middle of March and ending in late April of 1999, the pair began filming themselves in what would be known as the Columbine "Basement Tapes". In the videos, that have since been destroyed along with over tons of other Columbine evidence by Jefferson County, Eric and Dylan make it clear that they are about to launch the deadliest attack on their high school. They drink Jack Daniels whiskey and use profanity; referring to themselves on occasion as 'gods'. They also talk about students they hate and mock them. Later on, they poke fun at how well they were able to hide their misdeeds in collecting the weapons and supplies needed for the massacre. Dylan even went so far as to play the role of Eric's mother in entering his room to check it. Eric shows off all of his hiding places that contain pipe bombs, knives, gun powder, and bomb making equipment. He eventually shows the camera his Savage-Springfield 67H pump shotgun he refers to 'Arlene', named after a character from Doom. Towards the end of the tapes, the pair began talking about how their parents were not at fault for what they were going to do. While Dylan was rough around the edges in using his words, Eric was more sympathetic and generally showed remorse in the tapes. They show the clothes they will wear when their 'judgement day' arrives. They bequeath their technology (computers, games, etc.) to both Chris Morris and Nate Dykeman. Finally on April 20, they both say their final goodbyes to their friends and families. 4-20-1999: Massacre at Columbine Eric Harris was responsible for six standalone casualties in the Columbine High School massacre, excluding his own suicide. Harris was responsible for four casualties along with Dylan Klebold. Together, they injured 24 others. Clothing and Gear Eric wore black fatigue-style pants, a white T-shirt inscribed with the words "Natural Selection" on the front, black baseball cap with the words "KMFDM" on it worn backwards (not worn in the cafeteria CC-TV), and a black duster trenchcoat. He also wore a black fingerless glove on his right hand and black combat boots. Both shooters wore utility belts which held pouches filled with shotgun shells and they carried CO2 bombs and clips of 9mm bullets in their pants. To make fuse lighting easier with their pipe bombs, both gunmen had match strikers taped to their forearms. Eric's weapons included knives, explosives, a Savage 67H pump-action shotgun (sawn-off) and a Hi-Point 995 carbine. His rifle has often been misattributed to that of an M1 carbine, Ruger Mini-14, and Kel-Tec SUB-2000 (oddly used in the 2004 documentary, Zero Hour: Massacre at Columbine High). Suicide After leaving the cafeteria at 11:58 AM, Eric and Dylan returned to the library where they quickly engaged in yet another firefight with the police and emergency services in the Columbine parking lots. No one was struck or hurt. At approximately 12:08 PM, 32 minutes after they had left the library, Patti Nielsen and several other teachers and staff who were hiding inside a break room in the vicinity overheard gunshots erupt nearby. Both gunmen had committed suicide: Harris by firing his shotgun through the roof of his mouth and Klebold by firing his TEC-9 through his left temple causing him to move violently before drowning in his own blood. It is generally believed that Eric sat against a bookshelf and used both his legs to steadily hold his shotgun in place in order to take his own life; his autopsy can be seen below. Autopsy Report of Eric Harris (recreated) HARRIS, ERIC FINAL ANATOMIC DIAGNOSIS : # Through and through high energy contact gunshot wound involving the roof of the mouth associated with: A. Extensive lacerations of the scalp and soft tissues of the face B. Massive fracturing of the skull C. Evacuation of the brain - cerebral cortex and brain D. Extensive fracturing of the facial bones 'COMMENT: '''The autopsy findings in this case reveal that the cause of death is due to massive head injury secondary to a high energy gunshot wound involving the roof of the mouth, consistent with a shotgun. This wound is consistent with self-infliction. - Ben Galloway, M.D. Forensic Pathologist Aftermath ''"We continue to be profoundly saddened by the suffering of so many that has resulted from the acts of our son. We loved our son dearly, and search our souls daily for some glimmer of a reason why he would have done such a horrible thing. What he did was unforgivable and beyond our capacity to understand. The passage of time has yet to lessen the pain." - Wayne and Kathy Harris, April 15, 2000 Eric's body was cremated after a memorial service was held, as was Dylan's. This was so no one would vandalize a grave site if they were laid to rest in a proper headstone or tomb. After the Columbine High School massacre, controversy rose against gun laws, violent video games, and music artists such as Marilyn Manson. Many films were also developed that were inspired by Columbine. Books were also written on the incident, focusing on why Eric and Dylan could have done what they did. The killers' journals were released to the public as were their videotapes. The parents of Eric and Dylan remained quiet and kept a low profile, until Sue Klebold released a book about her son Dylan (A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy) in 2016. She has since become an advocate for suicide awareness. All of the Columbine evidence has since been destroyed, including the weapons, and the Basement Tapes that many have urged JeffCo to release to the public. In 2014, a small piece of one of the tapes was leaked that featured Eric and Dylan referring to 'Rachel and Jen' (possibly Rachel Scott and Jennifer Doyle) as "Christian-godly whores." In 2016, a film was released based on the journal entries of Rachel Scott, the first victim of the massacre, entitled I'm Not Ashamed, ''which received a rating of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. Immediately after the massacre, Columbine's library was removed and a new one was built outside of the school entitled ''Hope Columbine Memorial Library. An atrium was put in the place of the old library. Video Game Violence Eric played a video game named "Doom" The game released in 1993 and to this day has an active community of people making custom levels and content for the game, He was a semi-active member of the Doom community, having released some levels, These nowadays are known as "The Harris Levels" He made a Columbine Highschool level, one modification of the game called "UAC Labs" Many of his levels are lost and people or websites that have the levels that are lost refuse to give them to anyone, Harris was obsessed with the game and was once quoted saying "Most of my thoughts revolve around Doom", In his journal in reference to the upcoming shooting he said "Its gonna be like Doom." When it was discovered that his journal heavily referenced the game, This caused the press to start blaming Video games for his motives, and saying Doom was made by evil people who wanted the tragedy to happen. Though CNN has disproved this in a news article Eric Harris in Film Duck! The Carbine High Massacre (2000) In 1999, immediately after the Columbine High School massacre, William Hellfire and Joey Smack began developing a low-budget film based satirically on the incident with themselves starring in the film. Hellfire and Smack play two neo-Nazis from deprived families. Hellfire's portrayal as the leader Derwin was dark and gritty and Smack's hairstyle said enough to let you know where he was coming from. The film was released in 2000. This film is UNRATED. Zero Day (2003) In the 2003 school-shooter film Zero Day, Andre Kriegman is widely based on real life high school student turned crazed gunman Eric Harris; while Andre's partner Calvin "Cal" Gabriel is based on Dylan Klebold. Unlike what happened in the film, Eric and Dylan never really made a full "video diary" on how they were going to shoot up their school. The film is perhaps best based on the boys' video projects for their class and the Basement Tapes they made prior to the massacre. Many often mistake the ending to the film as real life footage of Eric and Dylan gunning down their victims in the Columbine library. This film is UNRATED. Elephant (2003) In the 2003 drama-film Elephant, Alex and Eric are loners at school who get bullied by jocks. In the film, ironically, the antagonist that is named 'Eric' uses the TEC-9. Much of the film evolves around different P-O-Vs from students at Watt High School. While Eric uses the TEC-9, Alex uses a rifle, and eventually ends up killing his friend (a conspiracy theory evolving around the suicide of Dylan Klebold) after sipping from a soda cup in the cafeteria. The film implies that Alex is based on Eric Harris. Unlike the two films before, the ending is really left ambiguous, having Alex corner two students and torcher them with a game of "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" while holding a weapon instead of ending his life. This film is rated R (sex and nudity, violence and gore, profanity, alcohol-drugs-smoking, frightening-intense scenes). I'm Not Ashamed (2016) In the 2016 Rachel Scott biopic I'm Not Ashamed, based on the first victim of the Columbine massacre's journal entries, we see a live action portrayal of both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. As the film is a primary focus on Rachel, you only see small snippets in the movie with Eric and Dylan. These contain Eric getting bullied by a jock in the hallways at Columbine right in front of Rachel and her friends, Eric listening to a Natural Selection speech by his History teacher, Eric reading a book on Nazism at home, Eric observing the jocks bullying what appears to be the Trenchcoat Mafia (a play on the "Eric in Columbine" home video), Eric and Dylan playing video games at home, Eric yelling at a friend (possibly a Brooks Brown or Chris Morris composite character) for being late in giving him a ride to school, Eric and Dylan venting at home, Eric and Dylan firing their shotguns in the woods (possibly the Rampart Range), Eric and Dylan playing with their weapons and venting at home, Eric and Dylan show their 'Hitmen for Hire' project in class before it is cut off by the teacher, Eric and Dylan confront Rachel in stairwell for talking to the teacher, Eric and Dylan are seen in what appears to be the Basement Tapes, and Eric and Dylan shoot Rachel Scott. This film is rated PG-13 (teen drinking, smoking, disturbing-violent content, and suggestive situations). Love Interests at Columbine During his years at Columbine, Eric has had relationships with many students. Below are the females that he once had relations with or aspired to be with. Home Videos Eric Harris was featured in five home videos: * Car Wax Commercial * Eric in Columbine * Radioactive Clothing * Hitmen for Hire * Breakfast Run (can be heard) Gallery ice_screenshot_20170505-162938.png|Portrait of Eric Harris, aged 17. ice_screenshot_20170505-163103.png|Eric Harris yelling at camera in "Hitmen for Hire". ice_screenshot_20170505-163738.png|Eric Harris, aged 11. ice_screenshot_20170505-163914.png|CC-TV screenshot of Eric Harris running in Columbine cafeteria (4-20-99). ice_screenshot_20170505-164104.png|Eric Harris with Dylan Klebold at Rampart Range. ice_screenshot_20170505-164354.png|Eric David Harris. ice_screenshot_20170505-164539.png ice_screenshot_20170505-164705.png|Eric Harris as a junior. ice_screenshot_20170505-164920.png ice_screenshot_20170505-165053.png|Eric Harris, aged 9. ice_screenshot_20170505-165253.png|Eric Harris shooting at one of the propane bombs in the Columbine cafeteria (4-20-99). ice_screenshot_20170505-165544.png|Eric Harris calm and collected. ice_screenshot_20170505-171550.png|Eric Harris' body, obfuscated in red, in the Columbine library (4-20-99). ice_screenshot_20170505-170001.png|Eric Harris with Dylan Klebold in the Columbine cafeteria (4-20-99). Notes * Eric celebrated his 18th birthday on April 9, 1999, just twelve days before the massacre. * After sawing off the stock of his Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, Eric purposely put duct tape around the exposed grip of the gun likely so he wouldn't injure his hand while firing the weapon. He also trimmed the barrel to make it more concealable. * Neither Eric or Dylan ever used their knives during the massacre, however some students heard them talk about using them. * In the Basement Tapes, it was later revealed (by multiple sources) that Eric found out that Dylan was part Jewish. Many site this as evidence to support the conspiracy claim that Eric shot Dylan after they returned to the library. * Eric removed his trenchcoat in front of a fence, near the school's west entrance. * Eric's Hi-Point 995 carbine rifle was used to kill two people, and perhaps wound an unspecified amount of other people; while his Savage-Springfield 67H pump-action shotgun was used to kill seven people and wound another unspecified amount of people.